[Numbing Strike (LV. 1)]

A strike that causes the attacked body part to become completely numb for five seconds, as long as sufficient blood is drawn.

Petyr shared the information about his newly awakened skill with Roseus.

From the smile on his face, the fencer clearly understood just how powerful such a skill could become.

Many fighters neglected defending themselves from minor strikes, especially ones aimed at the arms or legs. With Numbing Strike, Petyr could take advantage of this, aiming for vital body parts that would greatly hinder the opponent’s movements and combat prowess.

The only question was just how large of a wound was necessary to numb a limb, and what sort of creatures it could work on.

His guess was that the larger and stronger the creature was, the greater the wound had to be in order for Numbing Strike to come into effect.

"I’m jealous," Roseus admitted.

The fencer placed a hand on the Captain’s shoulder and chuckled.

"Don’t be silly, Captain. I’m the one who’s jealous. Meeting a god? I would love to experience that."

Before Roseus could say anything else, the man left. He wasn’t sure how to feel about those last words. There was nothing to love about his experience with Nammon, the greedy god.

...

With every minute that passed, the Navy was getting closer, and yet there were no signs of anybody else awakening.

Roseus stood in the crow’s nest, watching their pursuers.

At this rate, they’ll be on us in less than a day. That leaves only me and Petyr with the ability to use skills in battle.

We need to get stronger... If not everyone, then at least I do. It’s my duty as captain.

There had been an idea floating around in Roseus’s head ever since he first spotted the Navy. He didn’t want to have to go through with it, but he found himself left with no other choice.

He had to get stronger by any means necessary.

...

The Captain slid down to the deck and landed amidst his crew members. Some of them looked much more worried than others.

What he was about to tell them would make them worry even more.

Roseus held his father’s hat up for everyone to see.

"I’m going to use the hat to summon the monsters of the deep."

A few eyes went wide, as he expected, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t.

"None of you have to fight. Those who want nothing to do with the monsters should stay below deck. Those who want to get stronger, come and help me fight. Absorbing souls is important, and Petyr has already confirmed that combat at sea can help you awaken."

As he looked around, he could already tell who would stay and who would hide below deck.

Kruger, Petyr, Dawn, Adriana, and Silius each had a look of understanding on their faces. The others wore expressions of doubt.

Although it shamed them, they remembered their encounter with the Sucker. They would rather wait until they naturally awakened, which would give them a better chance at fighting in the future, than risk themselves now.

Dawn, as first mate, would never turn down a fight. Kruger was ex-Navy and awakened, and so was Petyr. Adriana... she loved firing guns too much. Silius desperately wanted to awaken his navigation skill and thought that maybe fighting might help with that.

The others struggled to meet their captain’s eyes as they fled below deck, leaving the fighters alone. Roseus watched them as they descended the stairs.

I can only accept weakness for so long... You guys are going to have to change, or the seas will change you themselves.

Once only those who were willing to fight remained, Captain Roseus explained his reasoning for what he planned to do. It wasn’t just to get stronger, but also to find treasure.

Any powerful treasure that existed in the First Ocean had long since been seized by the Navy. However, there were often fishermen or pirates who died out at sea while carrying weak treasures on their bodies.

This was known because such treasures often washed up on shores, which was how illegal organisations came into possession of such things.

However, Roseus also suspected that sometimes treasures remained on the bodies of humans after they died at sea. Once they transformed into monsters such as sea zombies and the like, there was a chance they would still carry the treasures on their deformed bodies.

Even though the treasures would be weak, if Roseus equipped them, they would each grant him a unique positive effect thanks to his pact with the Sea God, Nammon.

Through this, he might find a treasure that could help them fight against the Navy if it came to that.

...

The crew members positioned themselves in preparation for battle.

Adriana stood in the crow’s nest so that she could fire into the sea from above.

Kruger stood on the quarterdeck, another high point, so that he could utilise his range.

Dawn, Petyr, and Roseus remained on the deck with their weapons drawn, ready for melee combat.

Silius stood by the steering wheel so that he could continue navigating the ship in case they needed to perform any specific manoeuvres.

With everybody positioned, Roseus finally donned his hat.

He felt the familiar sensation that made him feel as though he was being watched by an unseen presence.

At first, there was only silence as they waited for whatever was about to start targeting them. All that could be heard were the steady waves.

Then, a giant crash came from somewhere in the water behind them.

They all turned to face it, but whatever it was had already submerged itself back beneath the water before anyone could see it.

The only one who had spotted it was Adriana.

The woman began firing repeatedly into the ocean, emptying half of her bullets.

Kruger cursed loudly.

"Adriana, calm yourself down! Compose yourself!"

But the gun blazer didn’t seem to be listening to him at all.

She fired another bullet down into the ocean and roared,

"It’s half the fucking size of our ship!"